Gold declined for the first time in four days after the dollar advanced, curbing demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Palladium increased to a nine-year high. Immediate-delivery gold dropped 0.2 percent to $1,338.10 an ounce at 1:44 p.m. in Melbourne. Bullion, which reached a record $1,387.35 on Oct. 14, dropped as much 0.9 percent yesterday as the dollar rallied against the euro. “Overall, I think we will remain in a range for the time being,” Ng Cheng Thye, head of bullion at Standard Bank Asia, said by phone from Singapore. The metal may trade between $1,300 to $1,360 for the next week or two, he said. The Dollar Index, a gauge of the U.S. currency against a basket of six counterparts, advanced as much as 0.2 percent after climbing 0.8 percent yesterday, before reports likely to show the U.S. recovery is gathering pace. Gold typically moves inversely to the dollar. December-delivery gold was little changed at $1,339.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York after dropping as much as 0.8 percent yesterday. Spot palladium, used in pollution-control devices in cars, gained as much as 1.3 percent to $637.75 an ounce, the highest level since June 2001, before trading at $633.50. Platinum advanced as much as 0.7 percent to $1,715.63. Large trucks in the U.S. must cut emissions by as much as 20 percent by 2018, under the first standards planned for work vehicles, President Barack Obama’s administration said on Oct 25. Confidence among U.S. consumers grew in October from a seven-month low according to an index released by the New York- based Conference Board yesterday. Still, Americans’ views on job availability and wage prospects soured, according to the figures. U.S. gross domestic product probably rose at a 2 percent annual pace in the third quarter, up from a 1.7 percent rate in the previous three months, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before an Oct. 29 Commerce Department report. Silver for immediate delivery gained 0.9 percent to $24.095 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Wendy Pugh in Melbourne at wpugh@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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